During our discussion in class today we talked about the end of the novel. Due to the fact that the ending is left very open ended we didn't come to a conclusion. What do u think happened at the end of the story? Did milk man die? Is this what you thought was going to happen at the end? How does the ending fit with the rest of the story?
It is true that the end of the story is very open ended and really depends on the reader to reach their own conlusion. Like the rest of the story, I think the ending has a lot of things that just need to be accepted. Who are we to say that Milkman did not take off and fly? In the same way that Pilate "just doesn't" have a belly button, and in a story where ghosts regularly appear, it is impossible to make assumptions about what is or isn't realistic in the rest of the story.
ReplyDeleteI personally like to think that Milkman really did fly. The book is already full of so many fictional/fantastical and unrealistic things, so would flying away really be that out of the ordinary? It's been a theme throughout the story, so I think it would make for a satisfying ending to see it fulfilled, especially given all the comparisons between Milkman and Shalimar.
I see what Oliver is saying, but when I first read the ending, I thought that Milkman had jumped off the cliff at Solomon's leap. On the last page there was a quote that really convinced me that Milkman just jumped: ""You want my life? Milkman was not shouting now. "You need it? Here." Without wiping away the tears, taking a deep breath, or even bending his knees--he leaped". This quote makes it seem like Milkman is ready to surrender and give up his life. Its almost like he doesn't even worry what will happen to him because he is finally flying. But the very last sentence is still confusing: "If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it". "Surrendering to the air" could mean a lot of things, but it still seems to me like Milkman is just letting go of everything and escaping his life by "flying" off the cliff.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure what happens at the end of the book because it is so open ended and I think that is what Toni Morrison intended the ending to be. I am not sure if Milkman dies or ends up flying like Solomon. If Milkman were to die I think that it would be because he was trying to fly when he jumped off the cliff meaning to take a leap of faith. This is Similar to Mr. Smith in the beginning of the book when he tried to "fly away with (his) own wings" but ended up killing himself. Milkman could have had the same fait as Mr. Smith or he could have been successful and flew away. Either way I think that Milkman was trying to fly and doing so he was accepting his past and coming to terms with what he values.
ReplyDeletei agree with Katie. i think that the end of the book is saying that Milkman jumped off the cliff. It also seems like he's almost at peace with his death, because he knows he must kill Guitar. I also like Nicki's point about Mr. Smith. I think this is even more proof that Milkman did jump. Mr. Smith jumped on the same day that Milkman was born while 'trying to fly.' Milkman dies in the exact same way as Mr. Smith.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie and was convinced that Milkman died by the same quote that she used. I don't believe that Toni Morrison wanted us to necessarily believe that some of the characters were actually flying. Instead, I think it was used to represent freedom from life's burdens. Due to the fact that at the end of the book Milkman had finally learned about his family history and was able to piece together what had happened, he finally felt free for the first time in his life. He no longer wanted to be burdened by his family's issues so he saw this way as freeing himself just like Shalimar had.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with Katie. I thought that Morrison used Milkman's jump off the cliff to represent the theme of flying throughout the whole book. I also agree with Jillian, that flying is supposed to be leaving parts of your life behind and being free. However, I do not think Milkman's freedom came from finding out his family history because there were still some unanswered questions. I think Milkman was able to let go of finding out reasons why things had occurred in his past or in his family's past. I somewhat disagree with Nicki because Mr. Smith was only "trying" to fly. Milkman was able to free himself from his family's past because he was actually able to let go and TRULY fly.
ReplyDeleteJust want to say--I'm impressed! This is a really high-level discussion!!! This makes up for that last day of class discussion of the novel where no one had much to say!
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